


I AM AN ARTIST PLEASE GOD FORGIVE ME (DHMIS drabbles)

by sweetpeawastaken



Category: Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (Webseries)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, harry is protective, manny has a different name (dani), manny/dani is nonbinary, robin is himbo by definition????, robin is supportive and kinda dumb, touch starved manny/yellow guy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:36:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29888127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetpeawastaken/pseuds/sweetpeawastaken
Summary: just random drabbles for my high school au of dhmis. no particular order. might become a full story one day but if it does ill make it a separate work most likely.
Relationships: Duck & Red Guy & Yellow Guy (Don't Hug Me I'm Scared), Red Guy/Yellow Guy (Don't Hug Me I'm Scared)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> there may be typos cause i typed this out last night while half asleep and barely edited it  
> warning: there is heavily implied abuse (both mental/emotional and sexual abuse) but so far no scenes that involve descriptions (ill put warnings at the beginning of the chapter if that ever happens)

I shut my door as quietly as I could despite the panic still flowing through me, my hands shaking.  
I slid to the floor, tears trickling down my cheeks. Hopefully he’ll just go to bed and I wont have to deal with any more tonight...  
My phone buzzed from my dresser, making me jump. I stood up and walked over to pick it up.  
Damn. 20 messages in the group chat.  
 _Dani? Are you okay?_  
 _Dani are you there?_  
 _We’re worried about u dude_  
 _If your dad is fucking around again i can come over_  
 _me too, you know my aunt doesnt care_  
I sighed and clicked on the keyboard to type.  
 _hey. im fine. dont worry about it_  
I hesitated before hitting send, then dropping my phone next to my pillow.  
I laid down on my side, curling up and letting a quiet sob break loose. I ignored my phone continuously buzzing every few minutes. They’d come to check on me either way, i knew they didnt believe that i was fine.  
Because i wasnt. And they’ve always been able to read me like a book.  
A soft knock made me jump, lookig towards my window.  
The window slid open and in climbed Harry and Robin.  
Robin was a fairly short guy, maybe average, but not as short as me. He had dark green hair, which he tried to keep combed, though it never seemed to work out for him, as he often ran his hands through it and messed it up. His eyes were hazel-brown, sometimes appeared to be red-tinted when the sun hit them at a certain angle. He has slightly darker skin than me, not by much, it’s genetics as far as I know, and a pointed nose that often reminds me of a bird. I poke fun at him about it sometimes, but never in a mean way.  
Harry is much taller than both of us— probably close to 6”, and might even get taller in the next few years. He had olive skin and long red hair, which trailed past his shoulders and often falls over his right eye. His eyes Re my favourite part about his appearance, and not just because they were my favourite colour— a brilliant emerald green, which looked lovely in any lighting, even the dim lighting of my bedroom where the street lamps from outside barely caught them.  
“Dani...? Holy shit.” They both rushed to my side.  
“Dude is that blood???”  
I blinked and felt around my face.  
“Wh-what? where??” I hadn’t realised he hit me that hard.  
“Here...” Harry pulled his sleeve up to his thumb and gently wiped at my cheekbone. I winced slightly— it was probably bruised already too.  
“What happened...?” Robin asked softly, placing a hand on my shoulder.  
My lip trembled. I couldnt keep this up much longer.  
Tears started streaming down my face like rivers and i sobbed.  
“Im sorry—“ I croaked, and immediately the two of them had enveloped me in a tight group hug.  
I sobbed as they held me, unable to stop.  
Harry occasionally would pet my hair or rub my back, Robin occasionally uttering soft hushes.  
Eventually my sobs died down.  
“....You cant stay here.”  
I looked up at Harry, his expression grim and serious.  
Robin nodded in agreement.  
“We had our suspicions that it was more than drunken yelling, but... no proof, and you never wanted to talk about it...”  
“We didnt want to make you uncomfortable.” Harry clarified, to which Robin nodded.  
I looked between the two of them.  
“Then... where am i supposed to go? I dont have a job like you guys...”  
“You could live with one of us. When we move out you can room with us both.”  
Robin nodded. “You know my parents are barely home, and my aunt doesnt care!”  
“And even when his parents are home, you can stay with me.” Harry gave me a warm smile.  
More tears welled up in my eyes.  
“I dont deserve you guys....” I sobbed.  
Harry reached up to brush off my tears, seemingly unknowingly.  
“sure you do.”  
I didnt argue. Wasnt worth it. But i wasn’t convinced i deserved anything good.  
***  
Robin was fishing through my closet for more bags or suitcases for the rest of my things. We already had all of my clothes packed into my biggest suitcase, any other cloth related things of importance to me(my favourite blanket and the stuffed animals my mom gave me before she passed)  
But i had a few other things that needed packing, so Robin was fishing through the useless junk in my closet shelves for a backpack or something.  
I rubbed my arm, my heart pounding. It was really happening.  
I wasn’t too worried about my dad walking in— Harry moved my dresser in front of my door (my dad took off the doorknob when i was in middle school) and besides, he was probably passed out by now.  
I felt a hand on my shoulder and jumped.  
Harry withdrew his hand for a moment as i turned to him.  
“Sorry, I didnt mean to scare you—“  
“Its okay....”  
“I just... I wanted to ask you something.”  
I blinked at him.  
“What is it?”  
He carefully placed a hand back on my shoulder.  
“I know you’ve avoided talking about this for a long time. And you don’t have to give any sorts of details, okay? But i want— no, i need you to be honest with me, Dani.”  
I bit my lip, but nodded.  
“Has your dad abused you... in any other ways?” He looked so serious, almost scary.  
I froze, my lip trembling. My knees shook.  
“Wh-what do you mean?” I stalled, knowing exactly what he meant.  
He stared at me.  
“....I knew he abuses you mentally, and now i know about the physical abuse. Dani, theres really only one other type of abuse... I just... Im worried about you.”  
I fell completely silent, lip quivering, too afraid that no matter what i would say my voice or silence would betray the truth.  
His hand tightened on my shoulder slightly.  
“I knew it...” He growled softly.  
“...H....Harry?” I breathed softly.  
Suddenly he hugged me tightly, holding me to his chest, holding me like i meant the entire world to him.  
“I’ll kill him...” He whispered, his grip tightening on my just a little. Just enough.  
Enough that i finally remembered what it felt like to be safe.


	2. if you thought i wouldnt write a self indulgent sappy oneshot you’d be dead wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Dani has to stay with Harry for a couple weeks because Robin’s parents are home. Dani’s been having nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: a little blood but nothing serious, mention of drowning+death+existentiality I guess??  
> also language and some rather graphic descriptions involving blood+torture!!! Harry is NOT messing around

Robin’s parents were home for a couple of weeks, so I was staying with Harry until they went back on another trip or something.

I mostly slept on the floor of his room— which he said he was fine with, but i was so anxious I’d wake him up.

See, I suffer from really bad night terrors. Some of them are flashbacks, but a lot of them are just... nonsense! Some where I drown in oil, a few where a clock comes to life and has the same voice as our history teacher, and he accelerates time until i feel my skin decaying while I’m still alive, even some that I don’t remember but still send me into panic attacks when i wake up.

It’s been almost a week and I think I’ve done well with not waking him up. Or, well, I thought I was...?

“Hey are you sleeping alright? You look... really really tired. Er... More than usual I guess?”

I shifted slightly from my spot on the floor where I sat cross-legged, glancing up from my book to look at the wall.

“Just.... Just some nightmares. The usual.”

“...You can wake me up when you have them if you need me, you know that right?” He looked up from his phone and made eye contact with me, green eyes piercing through my very soul.

I gulped, feeling my face flush a little. I held my book up a little more to hide the pink dusted on my cheeks.

“I-i dont wanna bother you every night like that—“

“No. You never bother me.” He interrupted firmly. He reached over and pushed the book back down, staring at me.

I blushed more visibly.

“A-are you sure?” I stammered.

He nodded firmly.

“Absolutely.i promise, okay?” His expression softened.

I still didnt wake him up that night.

I bolted upright from my floor-bedding, cold sweat dripping down my face, drenching my hair.

I bit my lip to suppressed a scream, then bit it again to suppress a sob, and again and again until I felt warm blood trickle down my chin. It dripped onto my hands, which were clutching my blankets tightly.

I gasped for air between suppressed sobs, harshly scrubbing at my eyes.

I heard Harry’s mattress creak as he rolled over.

“Dani? Are you okay?” He asked. I looked over towards him, my eyes adjusted to the dark. 

My lack of an answer caused him to slide off of his bed to sit next to me. He reached up to turn his lamp on, and I wasn’t fast enough to stop him.

“Y-youre bleeding—!” He scrambled for a tissue from the box on his nightstand and gingerly grabbed my face to clean the blood.

I blushed warmly.

“Did you have another nightmare? I told you to wake me up.” He looked down at me, tossing the bloody tissue into the bin. He examined my lip, brushing his thumb across the place I had bitten.

“...It’s not too bad...” He murmured, and he paused, gaze flicking between my eyes and my lips.

I froze, blushing.

He seemed to snap out of it after a moment, blushing softly.

“You okay....?”

I nodded, still blushing madly.

“yeah... I just... Im sick of having nightmares every night....”

He reached to smooth down my hair, tucking a stray strand behind my ear.

“They’ll go away someday. Are they of anything specific? Hey, come sit on the bed, the floor is probably really uncomfortable for you, huh?”

Before I could protest, he had pulled me to my feet, urging me to sit on the bed next to him.

“i.., sometimes? theyre usually just... completely random nonsense...”

“do you think talking about them might help...?” His hand brushed against mine, and i glued my eyes to our hands, his fingers occasionally twitching as if he wanted to hold my hand.

“....m...maybe... its just that theyre stupid...”

“Its not stupid if it’s scaring you this bad. what was last night’s about? tell me.”

i looked at him, tearing up.

“most of the ones i had last night were the usual nonsense...” I proceeded to tell him about how vivid my nonsense nightmares were and what happened in them.

He listened quietly, occasionally asking a question when he saw fit. His fingers slowly, slowly laced with mine.

“...You said... most of them... did you have some nightmares that werent the usual nonsense...?”

I hesitated.

“yeah. i dont usually have them but... i had some about....” i chewed the inside of my cheek.

“my dad...”

his grip on my hand tightened.

“.......”

“...i’d kill him if i could...” he muttered.

“no you wou—“

“YES, i would, Dani!” Harry reiterated sternly.

“If i could, i would tear him limb from limb and let him suffer, bleeding out from cuts and gashes and no working limbs to even try to help himself with.” He turned towards me more, his expression fierce.

“I’d leave him to bleed out like that while starving rats feed on his flesh, i’d tell him every awful fucking thing he’s done and how much he fucking deserves what i’d do and so much worse until he loses consciousness.”

“Harry...” I said softly at this pause in description, and it brought him back. He seemed to blush a bit— he’d moved in much closer during his tangent.

“....,why do you care so much?” 

He hesitated, as if he was thinking.

“....do you want the same answer ive given you our whole lives, or do you want the truth?” he breathed softly, a shaking hand coming up to brush hair from my eyes.

“...th....the truth, please...” i whispered as his hand gingerly cupped my cheek. His hand was so warm and comforting, i couldnt help but lean into it a bit.

“.......” He took a breath, seeming to be gathering the nerve.

“I love you. I care so much because i love you. Im _in_ love with you.”

I blushed madly, blinking at him.

“Really? Y-you mean it...?”

He nodded quickly, a twinge of hope sparkling in his emerald eyes at my reaction.

“With all my heart. You mean the world to me, Dani.”

“I love you too...” I breathed softly, afraid but so happy to say it out loud for the first time.

He laughed softly, pressing out foreheads together.

“c-can... c-can i....” He stammered softly, our lips merely centimetres apart.

“can i kiss you...”

“y-yes p-p-please...” i stammered nervously, and in less than a second his lips were against mine, he slipped his other arm aroubd my waist to pull me against him.

I melted into him. It felt so nice.

Id never kissed anyone before. I’d never had such a gentle hold on my waist, firm but protective.

I lightly gripped his shirt, whimpering into the kiss without quite meaning to. He pulled away, a soft chuckle escaping.

“You... are incredibly touch starved, arent you?”

I blushed brightly and nodded sheepishly.

He smiled softly and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.

“That’s alright. It’s cute. Im glad i can finally show the affection I’ve had for you after... what, three or four years probably....”

i gaped. “th-that long???” 

He nodded, a soft chuckle escaping:

“yeah....”

“.....”

he smiled at me.

“do you want to stay up here the rest of the night?”

i nodded sheepishly, and he didnt hesitate to lay us down under the blankets.

He reached over to turn off his lamp, then wrapped both arms around me, protective. He curled around me a little bit, which caused me to curl up against him.

He pressed another kiss to my forehead.

“Get some sleep, love. I’ll be right here.”


	3. hee hoo trauma go brr (hurt/comfort)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning!  
> ⚠️emotional/physical abuse  
> ⚠️(implied/eluded) sexual abuse  
> ⚠️mention of death  
> ⚠️mention of religion(very brief and vague but just in case)

_Listen to your heart! Listen to the rain! Listen to the voices in your brain!_  
Dani rolled over in his sleep, face scrunching in discomfort.  
 _Its out of my hands, I’m only a clock! Dont worry, I’m sure you’ll be fine, but eventually everyone runs out of time._  
He stirred as the nightmare progressed.  
 _ARE YOU HUNGRY? YOU LOOK TO BE A BIT HUNGRY!!_  
Moments later, Dani jolted awake, sitting upright in his bed. Sweat made his hair and back feel damp, uncomfortable, and hot. He took a moment to catch his breath, reminding himself that it was only a dream.  
He blinked, rubbing sleep from his eyes and looking at the clock on his nightstand.  
5:30 am. Enough time for a shower before school.  
 _Hopefully dad isnt awake yet..._  
Dani slipped out of bed, his feet meeting the cold wooden floor of his room. Most people didn’t like the feeling of the cold on their feet so early, but Dani liked it. It was grounding. It made him feel present.  
He walked over to his calendar and grabbed the sharpie that was clipped to it to mark off the date, then went to grab some clothes from his closet.  
He had done some laundry the day before, so his favourite sweater and overalls were clean.  
He quietly treaded down the hall, ears trained for any sounds that would imply his dad was awake. Nothing.  
He slipped into the bathroom and closed the door quietly. He locked it, even though the lock was faulty and often easily broke open.  
A sudden surge of paranoia caused him to push the clothes bin in front of the door— it was only half full, but a lot of it was wet towels, so it was probably heavy enough. Dani hadn’t done the laundry from this hamper yet, only from the one in his room.  
Feeling a bit safer, he laid his clothes down on the counter and stripped down, hopping into the shower.  
He spaced a bit as he washed the nightmare-induced-sweat off his body. He tried not to look down too much though— sure, he’s nonbinary, you’d think have a mix of the main two binary sexes would make him feel better, but his dad didn’t really do a great job of making him feel good about his body.  
He leaned against the wall, feeling dizzy just thinking about the last incident. He shook his head, forcing the thoughts out of his mind. He was determined to have a good day today.  
He was out of the shower moments later, drying off and tossing the towel into the laundry bin.  
He looked at his phone.  
 _Fuck. It’s already 6:25??_ He hadnt meant to be in the shower that long.  
He quickly got dressed and pressed his ear to the door.  
Not a sound.  
He opened the door and peeked down the hallway. Down the other end of the hall. Nothing.  
He quickly an quietly made his way into his room, closing the door and pushing the heavy rock he used ever since his dad took the lock off the door.  
He grabbed his earrings off his nightstand and sat in front of his full sized mirror to put them on.  
The rainbow circle, which he shared matching ones with Robin, Harry, and Shrignold. The silver butterfly that Shrig gave him for his birthday last year. The blue rose that Harry gave him. And...  
He stared at the light blue heart dangling from his right ear.  
It used to be his mom’s, before...  
He clenched his fist lightly, and blew out a breath as if expelling the sadness from his body. He was so young when she died, but he still missed her so much. He missed when their family was normal.  
He shoved the sadness down to the back of his mind and stood up, grabbing his shoulder bag and phone, peeking into his bag to make sure he had everything. History homework. The book that Robin was making him read(“Wuthering Heights”, it started off a bit boring, but he was starting to warm up to the story), his phone and charger.  
He started to head towards his door, pushing the rock back into it’s hiding place in his closet, then paused with his hand on the shoddy door handle.  
 _The art project is due today._  
He hurriedly grabbed the finished painting from the corner of his room and looked over it to make sure it was totally the way he wanted it.  
It was definitely a strange painting, but he’d put a ton of work into it. He was really happy with it, and hoped Miss Paige would let him keep it. She probably would, she was very nice like that.  
It was a painting of a landscape with the sun rising, almost entirely monochrome in shades of green, except for the sunrise, which he’d used blues for.  
He blushed lightly, knowing deep down why he chose these colours, then tucked the painting under his arm and quickly made his way out of his room and to the front door.  
He let out a relieved sigh as he reached the sidewalk. Not a single run in with his dad! That qualified as a good morning in his eyes!  
He headed down the sidewalk to the park, which was halfway between his house and the high school. He would meet Robin and Harry there and walk the rest of the way with them.  
Which he did, and surprisingly, Shrignold wad there too.  
“Hey guys! Shrig, did your dad let you leave earlier today?”  
Shrignold shifted his backpack strap to his other arm, smiling.  
“Yeah, only cause his throat was hurting a bit and he said we can put off morning devotions until I get back.”  
Shrignold was what you’d call the “pretty boy” in the school. He had fluffy black hair, which his father tried to make him keep combed, but a lot like Robin, Shrig ran his fingers through his hair a lot. Today he was wearing a blue sweater and his “signature” yellow scarf. He always wore that damn scarf, even in the summer. He said it was too thin to make him overheat, but he had nearly passed out at six flags once because of it.  
The four musketeers headed down the sidewalk towards the school.  
“Is that your art project?” Harry asked, gesturing to the canvas tucked under Dani’s arm.  
“Yeah...”  
“Can I see?”  
Dani blushed and nodded, handing the medium-sized canvas to his friend.  
Harry’s emerald eyes flicked over the painting, and the rest of the group stopped, Robin and Shrignold looked over his shoulder at it.  
“The colours are really interesting, Dani! I wouldn’t have thought of something like that.” Robin gave his lifelong friend a smile, and Dani rubbed the back of his neck.  
“Awe... thank you... Im sure yours is just as good, though.” Robin didnt usually paint landscapes or people or anything like that, he preferred abstract arts. He also didn’t paint as often as Dani did.  
“Do the colours... mean anything, Dani?” Shrignold gave him a suggestive look, and Dani blushed because it caused Harry to look up at him too, now all three of them were looking at him.  
“Ah— um, n-no i dont guess so, i... I just thought it might be interesting to paint the sunrise in a different colour than usual...”  
Shrignold gave him a look that told him he knew exactly why he chose the colours he did.  
Harry handed him the painting back, and Dani blushed as their fingers brushed.  
“It’s a really nice painting. I’m sure Miss Paige will think so, too.” He smiled softly at him, which didn’t help his case of blush.  
They made it to the school with no other interruptions, except for the usual conversation about their homework and what classes were gonna be the worst/best today.  
***  
Dani stopped in front of the door to his house, hesitating to go in.  
He heard something like glass breaking from inside and bit his lip.  
Fuck. I guess I’ll have to try to sneak past him.  
He opened the door slowly, and luckily, the living room seemed to be empty.  
He looked over and saw his dad in the kitchen, turned away from him.  
He quietly tried to sneak through the living room to get to his room.  
“Manny.”  
He froze and turned towards his dad.  
“H-hi, dad...” He clutched the strap of his bag tightly.  
“You didn’t do the laundry like i asked.”  
Dani stood frozen in place.  
“I-I didn’t have enough t-time last night, I’m sorry—“  
“Didn’t have enough time?” His dad hissed through gritted teeth. He stalked towards Dani, who was still frozen in fear, trying to decide if running and hiding would make it worse for him.  
“Y-yeah—“  
Dani winced and cried out as his dad seized a fistful of the dark blue hair on his head, yanking him upwards.  
“What was that.” He growled menacingly.  
“Y-y-yes sir... ow...” He whimpered, feeling tears prick his eyes.  
Roy let go of him, and he stumbled a bit.  
He stared at him for several seconds, and Dani was too afraid to move.  
He slowly took a step towards the hallway, but Roy grabbed his hair again.  
“I didn’t tell you that you could leave, did I?”  
Dani felt his blood run cold. It was one of those nights.  
“I-I’m sorry, I thought you were d-done...”  
Roy let out a really hideous laugh in response, and Dani knew he’d chose the wrong wording.  
***  
Dani closed his door, slumping against the frame. Tears streamed down his face, stinging the bleeding cut on his cheek. He sobbed, sliding to the floor, burying his face in his knees.  
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and it took him a moment to calm doen enough to pull it out and see what it was. Tears blurred his vision. He harshly rubbed his eyes to clear them, looking to see who had messaged him.  
Shrignold.  
 _Hey!! We’re finally done with devotions if you wanna come over!!_  
Dani smiled and nodded even though Shrig couldnt see him.  
 _Sounds great. I’ll head out right now if thats ok_  
 _ofc!!_  
Dani stood up shakily and went over to his dresser, grabbing some clean clothes and shoving them into his bag.  
He snuck out through his window, running around the house to get his bike out of the garage.  
He mounted the bike and took off down the road, the only light being the dim yellowed streetlights.  
Shrignold only lived one street over, so Dani arrived in the driveway within 5 minutes.  
He knocked on the door and waited. The door opened not thirty seconds later, Shrignold beaming at him.  
“Hey dude! You know you dont have to knock— Hey, is that blood...?” Shrig’s expression changed to one of worry.  
“Dad! Where’s the first aid kit?!” He called over his shoulder, and his father appeared from around the corner.  
Malcom was the definition of “looks intimidating but is actually a teddy bear.” He seemed like he’d be mean, but he was like a second or third father to Dani.  
“Goodness, what happened here?” He walked across the living room as Shrignold pulled his friend inside, closing the door.  
“Oh, um—“  
“Did Roy do this?” Malcom knew Dani’s father— that didn’t mean they were on good terms though.  
Dani knew it would be impossible to lie to him. The Amoure family was of few people who knew the true extent of the abuse Dani went through.  
His lack of an answer caused Malcom to sigh.  
“Come sit on the couch, we can fix that up.”  
Dani was urged over to the couch before he could say or do anything.  
Shrignold sat next to him.  
“That son of a—“ He paused when he noticed Malcom giving him the Dad Look from around the corner of the cabinet door.  
“......bucket.”  
Malcom nodded and went back to looking for the first aid kit. Shrignold uttered a very quiet _bitch_ and Dani stifled a laugh.  
Malcom entered the living room with the first aid kit and peroxide, sitting on the other side of Dani.  
“How’s looking for the legal papers going?” Malcom asked. They had been trying to get him away from Roy for a few months now, but if they wanted the best results, they needed Dani’s birth certificate. Roy, unfortunately for them, was a master manipulator and liar. Besides, they needed Dani’s legal things to get his name changed.  
Dani sighed as he cleaned the blood from his face and inspected his wounds.  
“Not great. I’ve looked almost everywhere, Not a trace of them.”  
“You dont think he like... burned them or something, do you?” Shrig asked. Malcom shook his head.  
“No, not even Roy could be that stupid.”  
Dani paused, and the three were silent until The cut on his cheek was cleaned and bandaged.  
“Thank you...” Dani said softly. Malcom gave him a warm smile and ruffled his hair.  
“Anytime kiddo. You two go have fun, okay? Let me know if you need anything.”  
Shrignold dragged Dani to his room after this, which Dani didnt mind at all. It was a regular occurrence for Shrig to be excitable about simple things. But Dani admired that about him.  
***  
They spent a lot of the night messing around on youtube and other places on the internet. Shrignold got Dani to let him paint his nails, and he got carried away gossiping as he did.  
Dani listened politely to Shrig talking about things that werent technically his business as he painted his nails a dark green that sort of reminded Dani of Harry’s eyes.  
He blushed thinking about him, and unfortunately Shrig noticed.  
“Oooh are you thinking about Harrryyyy?” He teased, which only made it worse.  
“N-no!!” Dani stammered, even if they both knew it wasnt true.  
“I’m telling you, you need to make a move already!”  
Dani bit his lip.  
“I-i dont wanna ruin our friendship or make anything awkward, yknow?”  
Shrig raised his eyebrows at him.  
“Dani. You know he wouldnt leave you over something that petty.”  
Dani avoided his friend’s piercing pink gaze.  
“And even if he did, I’d beat him up! Robin would probably help me I bet.” He smiled.  
“You’d better be joking.” Dani smiled a little at him, knowing they wouldnt hurt Harry over something so small.  
“I am. _partly_.” He added quietly, and Dani grabbed the pillow next to him an threw it at his friend.  
Shrignold let out a loud, good-natured laugh at this, and Dani found himself feeling grateful to have such good friends.  
***  
They’d passed out around 2 in the morning. Dani had tried to stay up, but it wasnt much use. He wasnt good at staying awake most nights.  
Naturally, he experienced his usual night terrors. They were usually very silly and normal nightmares, if not more gruesome than most, but occasionally... he’d have flashback nightmares.  
In the midst of a talking Lamp that sounded like their Psychology teacher and drowning in a pool of oil, he remembered some of the worst of what his dad had done to him.  
Dani gasped as he jolted awake.  
“Hey, calm down, it’s just me.” Shrignold placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You were thrashing in your sleep. Having another nightmare?”  
Dani nodded after a moment.  
“Y-yeah...” Tears pricked at his eyes.  
“I dont understand, Shrignold.”  
“What do you mean?” He prompted gently.  
“Why does all of this happen to me? Did i do something wrong?” His voice broke.  
Shrignold shook his head quicky.  
“Heavens, no! You’ve never done anything wrong that wasnt an accident or something you didn’t apologise for!”  
“Then why do I have these horrible nightmares? Wh...why does my dad.... And...” Tears welled up in his eyes and fell down his cheeks in clear streams.  
“Why did mom have to die?” He croaked, and Shrignold quickly pulled him into a tight hug.  
“I dont know... Hey... hey, it’s okay...” Dani let himself cry, hugging Shrignold back almost as tightly as he was being held. Shrignold didnt mind. Anything to help his friend feel better.  
Dani cried quietly for several minutes. Exactly how long, neither of them were sure. By the time he was done, it had felt like both seconds and hours had passed.  
“......Shrig?”  
“Yeah, Dani?”  
“....Thank you. You’re a great friend.”  
Shrignold smiled at him.  
“So are you, Dani. I hope you see that as well as the rest of us do.”


End file.
